Thanksgiving Day 2006

Most of the time, when I think of thanksgiving days I usually remember the first one on my own living in Jersey. I was broke and lonely as usual and I begged Shiloh to let me crash his dinner at his father’s house. He obliged me; but I think that his father was none too happy about it.

But generally that is the first one I think about…when I say, Wow, its Thanksgiving Day… There are plenty others… especially one of my first trips up here and we had Slim Jims and pork rinds as we romped through parks and trails hiking all day...

Thanksgiving has generally been a good day. Maybe one or two uncomfortable days…and some I wish I could do over…but most of the time…know what I mean?

I think I remember the Thanksgiving I had at Shiloh’s first because it was one of those times when the spirit of the day filled me up more than the food. I knew I was intruding but it was one of those days I couldn’t be alone, not at that time. It was the beginning of me being tested, getting my character together…I was young…and I had nobody but Shiloh on my side and everything up to that point had gone against me…luck had seriously run out.

Do you remember those good old days’s Shiloh?

Its Thanksgiving morning right about 7 am, normally I’m at work doing my thing. This has been an upside down year, yes it has. Every year we are tested and asked to prove who we are… most years I thought that I won most of my battles, now that criteria has changed. I no longer feel that winning means being right, I think that it means making things right.

Generally when we come to that conclusion we have been on the losing side too often I hope that isn’t the case now… I just want it to mean something more than winning…I want something to result from it.

I could line up thousands of reasons for everything I have ever done, couldn’t you? Justify the world’s end…

we are a proud nation…we say…we are a proud people…we say…so proud we are never wrong…so proud we can not look at our actions and realize that we hurt people by the things we might say and or do…our place in the world is far too important to deal with such petty ideas such as the consequence of our actions…we emulate that as a public in our personal lives.

I am filled by both grief for my mistakes and their consequences and for the friends and family that are not sharing my life anymore and thankful for the wonderful life I am having, one that if I found that kid from Jersey and told him what it would be like, he’d tell me I was crazy. He’d say it wouldn’t happen.

What I always ask for is Hope and what I try to work to is Grace.

We talk a fair game but don’t play that card enough. In a world so filled with hate and prejudice about our friends, our families and what we see around us…with thankfulness comes forgiveness. I hope in my world I am forgiven…I hope I have shown the grace to forgive…

So ~ Happy Thanksgiving!!! I hope I get a chance to talk to everyone today…and I hope Tampa Bay beats Dallas…in their Thanksgiving Day debut.

My love goes out to everyone…even my enemies…Godspeed!!!